What’s On

Gsy Tapestry & Cafe St James

03 May 2018 - 03 May 2018Celebrate the 2018 Guernsey Heritage Festival theme of 'Occupation Liberation' with 'A Taste of Guernsey'.
Your evening starts with a welcome drink and entry into the Tapestry Gallery, manned by Islanders with connections to, or experience of the German Occupation during World War II.
Then at '1945' head upstairs to Cafe St James for a three-course supper, including teaditional dishes such as bean jar, potato peel pie and gache melee.
Pre-booked tickets £20 from St James Box Office only. Menu choices to be confirmed in advance of the event. Space limited.

Gabrielle Aplin

04 May 2018 - 04 May 2018The English singer/songwriter shot to fame in the UK towards the end of 2012, when her haunting rendition of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's hit 'The Power of Love' was used in the Christmas advertising campaign for retailer John Lewis, and which made it to No.1 in the UK charts. In 2013, Gabrielle Aplin released her debut full-length album 'English Rain', which featured a body of new work alongside the title track from her early EP 'Home'. The album was a success, reaching number two in the UK charts. In 2016 she became a sensation in Brazil when her song 'Home' appeared in the popular soap opera 'Totalmentw Demais' in which she even made a cameo in the final episode of the season. Tickets £27 - £33 plus booking fee from www.rockit.je

Sarnia Soiree

06 May 2018 - 06 May 2018An evening celebrating the Liberation. Dance to the Grammar School Swing Band and enjoy music from Debbie Bideau and The Wartime Warblers. Guernsey gache, gache melee and traditional food cooked by the College of FE cookery students. Honesty bar. Photos. Raffle. 1940s attire optional.

GYCT Little Theatre Company

08 May 2018 - 08 May 2018A new monthly theatre-based evening in a relaxed atmosphere kicks off in May as part of the Guernsey Literary Festival 2018. Launch night is 8th May
Everyone is welcome.
The venue is in The Lion's Den (upstairs at The Golden Lion by the market.
Bar from 7.00 Event starts at 8.00 with a reading of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
Free Tickets from the Guernsey Literacy Festival website.

FESTIVA - MayNine

09 May 2018 - 09 May 2018Guernsey's Community Choir relishes the opportunity to feature and promote Guernsey's premier concert venue in this, the building's bicentennial year and has invited President of St James, Stephen Ainsworth, to comment on the anniversary of the opening of St James-the-Less church in 1818. This and Festiva's 20th anniversary of presenting the annual Liberation Day Concert 'Prom Night' is reflected in words and wholesome singing celebrating over 73 years of freedom.

Life & Work of Desmond Bagley

11 May 2018 - 09 June 2018An exhibition about the life and work of the English thriller writer Desmond Bagley material, taking place at the Guille-Allès Library. Including a rare early annotated draft typescript, an unrealised screenplay and his early published fantasy and science fiction works. Other highlights are first editions, original cover art, uncorrected proofs and foreign editions of his novels, and photographs which include portraits by Guernsey photographer Graham Jackson.

Wire-Wrap Jewellery Workshop

12 May 2018 - 12 May 2018Elaine will go through some skills for wrapping sea glass and shell pieces to make pendants, using soft jewellery craft wire and jewellery pliers. Materials, and use of tools to make 2-3 pendants will be included. Cost £20 for the morning. At Sula Framing and Gallery, Sandy Hook, L'Islet. Book at the link given, or contact Sula Gallery tel. 245396

Notes to Islanders

14 May 2018 - 20 May 2018'NOTES TO ISLANDERS' will consist of a set of 10 signs to be displayed in St Peter Port. I have secured the dates 14-20th May 2018 to enable the project to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.
The signs will include life-affirming text:
'The fog will lift'
'Believe in your #self(ie)' - (I envisage the # and (ie) with crosses through)
'Healing has ups and downs'
'Every day is a new day'
'The past has passed'
'Art is good for your Mental Health'
'Friends come and go (only a precious few hold on
'Small steps = big changes'
'Storms don't last forever'
'Kindness changes everything'
I see these signs providing a very important platform for discussion surrounding Mental Health on the Island and ultimately help brighten up someone's day.
The catalyst for my new body of work has been my most recent experience of Mental Illness after an especially difficult year in 2017 (losing my father to Cancer, the day after marrying my wife) and 2018 marking 10 years since my suicide attempt at Pimlico Tube Station (followed by 3 months in hospital recovering from a broken skull, femur and ribs). This time, however, I spoke out about my difficulties to my friends and family and received Cognitive Analytical Therapy at Westminster Mind from September to December. The counselling raised some difficult subjects for discussion, but it also taught me a great deal. It was not just about my thought processes, but the negative impacts society can have on us all from an early age and ways to overcome them. I now want to incorporate this into my art work to help others too.
Last August Guernsey Mind and Mind Jersey, conducted a pan-island survey, which revealed:
o 94% of respondents think more needs to be done to increase awareness and understanding of Mental Health concerns.
o 94% agreed that there is still stigma attached to the subject.
o 47% indicated that they would be uncomfortable talking to friends and family about mental health concerns.
o 71% said they would be uncomfortable talking to their employer about mental health issues.
o 69% said they would be happy to approach their GP for help.
Statistics showing Mental Illness affects 1 in 4 individuals would suggest there are 15000 individuals in Guernsey affected by Mental Illness; this is without including the family and friends it impacts too.
Meetings and continued contact with Guernsey Mind’s Executive Director, Emily Litten, has provided me with a strong base for support and information with regards Mental Health on the Island. I am aware of the action Guernsey Mind is taking this year to promote Mental Health Awareness on the Island with their campaigns ‘1000 Minds’ and ‘Express Yourself’ and feel privileged to be asked to be a ‘Champion’. I have also continued involvement with ‘Mental Health in the Channel Islands’, a Facebook group. Individuals from the group have opened up to me about the difficulties they are facing with their Mental Health:
‘Like sometimes I feel ok. Basically I don’t want to cause a fuss... guess I just feel like a failure if I admit to it and say it out loud.’
Over the last few months, whilst taking our dog (Honey) for walks around our neighbourhood in Pimlico/Westminster, I have stumbled upon posters attached to electricity boxes, with the Instagram tag: notestostrangers. They contain positive messages to help improve the days of the individuals who come across them. As they were publicly accessible and had a physical presence (as opposed to reading something on a screen) I felt they resonated with me more deeply. On Honey and I's walks I would keep an eye out for them as finding them was a chance encounter. In time I started to photograph them, as notes of reassurance that I could look back at when I was feeling low. Their succinct, honest and human narrative (including spelling and grammatical errors) works well to not overwhelm the reader, also the use of font similar to David Shrigley's- an artist who as inspired me for many years now- is clear, personal and placed on an eye-catching, bright background.
For example:
'YOUR AGE DOESN'T DEFINE YOU'
'RESILIENCE COMES WITH REWARDS'
'YOU CAN BE BRAVE AND SCARED AT THE SAME TIME'
'STOP BEING SO BRITISH AND SAY WHAT YOU THINK'
'BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS WILL'
The 'Instagram' label enabled me to see how others have responded to the notes, reading them gave me the reassurance that I was not alone. I have set up an instagram page ‘NOTESTOISLANDERS’ for the public to interact and share their experiences of the signs if the text resonates with them in any way. Instagram is such a popular app, with 800 million users worldwide, and is free and accessible (it is interesting to see apps being used to help integrate people when technology can also isolate us). The notes would interrupt my negative thoughts with positive ones.
Text has been a fundamental part in my previous arts' practice. A few years ago I gained permission from Bournemouth Borough Council to erect a series of ten signs in Bournemouth Town Centre as part of a group exhibition ‘ARTificial’ . My signs made reference to social stigmas in the U.K. The signs received a very positive response from the public.
I have had many knock backs with gaining permission with 'NOTES TO ISLANDERS' but with perseverance, passion and positivism this exhibition is going ahead.
Public Art is accessible to all and could help to break down the stigma regarding Mental Illness in Guernsey and ultimately help raise awareness.

Red Priest

15 May 2018 - 15 May 2018The world-famous Baroque quartet led by 'superhuman' recorder players Piers Adams and the devilish fiddler, Adam Summerhayes, transform into a wild 'Baroqe Gpysy' band. They re-live the extraordinary virtuosity of early Bohemian Baroque masters, explore melodies from a 1730 Slovakian fiddler's tune-book, revel in the gypsy-influenced music of Telemann, and re-imagine music by Handel and the original Red Priest, Antonio Vivaldi.
Tickets £15 (£13 FOSJ), £13, £7 students, £9 restricted view

Linda Matthews 'En Plein Air'

16 May 2018 - 16 May 2018Sarnia Arts & Crafts Club are delighted to welcome visiting artist Linda Matthews who will be giving a painting demonstration on Wednesday 16th May, 7.30pm at St Martin's Community Centre. Linda loves to paint outdoors and she will be revealing some top tips for painting 'En Plein Air'. No matter what medium you like to paint in, Linda's demonstration will be very useful to anyone who likes to paint outside - whether that be in your back garden, on holiday or for competitions such as the Sarnia Arts & Crafts Club’s forthcoming Plein Air Painting Competiton (on 19th June!) Don't miss this opportunity to learn some valuable tips and enjoy a sociable evening with Sarnia Arts & Crafts Club. The evening is Free to Sarnia Arts & Crafts Members or £5 on the door for non-members. Please see the Sarnia Arts & Crafts Club’s Facebook Page for more information.

Guernsey Choral & Orchestral

19 May 2018 - 19 May 2018Guernsey Choral and Orchestral Society celebrates 70 years of music making with a musical feast of choral favourites. The Stabat Mater is a glorious religious work full of drama and beautiful melody from the pen of the operatic giant Rossini. Vaughan Williams' sumptuous and magnificent setting of Walt Whitman's poem Toward the Unknown Region established his reputation as one of the leading composers of the twentieth century. The second half of the programme is packed full of choral delights from Oratorio to Opera.
Tickets £15, £12 Senior Citizens, £10 students, £6 children under 16, £6 restricted view. Kindly sponsored by Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

Jamie Smith's Mabon

23 May 2018 - 23 May 2018Folk at St James - Jamie Smith's MABON
'Exhilarating, just exhilarating - a band that performs with such enjoyment, excitement, style and with a show of originality, energy and integrity.' Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo.
Stand by for infectious, life-affirming music by the spade full! One of the most highly accomplished and critically acclaimed Celtic roots music bands based in Britain today, Jamie Smith's MABON, have built their reputation on their exhilharating live performances and deftly worked recordings. An irresistable blend of world music and Celtic roots, filled with energy, joy and passion. At St James. Tickets £16 (£14 FOSJ), £14, £7 students, £9 restricted view

Alderney Performing Arts Festi

25 May 2018 - 28 May 2018Iceland comes to Alderney. Celebrate a unique event in some of the iconic forts in Alderney with a wonderful line up of Nordic performers and also more locally based ones. There's something for everyone!